User:Nheim1/sandbox

Colombian Trainee Atrocities
Colombian Alirio Urena was trained by WHINSEC, which at the time was still called SOA, before eventually being promoted to major in the Colombia army. In the late 1980's and early 90's, Urena's orders resulted in the murder of over 245 civilians. These murders were well known as Urena and his soldiers used chainsaws to break down victim's bodies before being thrown into the nearby Cauca River Urena's crimes are often used to as evidence to question the moral integrity of WHINSEC and it's training process.

Jesuit Priest Massacre
On November 16, 1989, six Jesuit priests (Ignacio Ellacuria, Segundo Montes, Ignacio Martin-Baro, Joaquin López y López, Juan Ramon Moreno, and Amado López); their housekeeper, Elba Ramos; and her daughter, Celia Marisela Ramos, were murdered by the Salvadoran Military on the campus of the University of Central America in San Salvador, El Salvador, because they had been labeled as subversives by the government. A United Nations panel concluded that nineteen of the 27 members of the Salvadoran Military were SOA graduates. They were found guilty for murder.

(COSTA RICA PARAGRAPH EDIT)

In 2007, Óscar Arias, president of Costa Rica, decided to stop sending Costa Rican police to the WHINSEC after Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay, and Venezuela ended their relationships with the program over the previous 5 years. As a result, the United States government launched a campaign to pressure Costa Rica into changing it's mind, citing additional training would be beneficial for counter-narcotics operations. Costa Rica has no military but has sent some 2,600 police officers to the school. Bolivian President Evo Morales formally announced on February 18, 2008, that he would not send Bolivian military or police officers to WHINSEC. In 2012, President Rafael Correa announced that Ecuador would withdraw all their troops from the military school at Ft. Benning, citing links to human rights violations.

WHINSEC Response to Criticism
Historically, WHINSEC has cooperated and even encouraged protests in order to deter greater conflict. Acknowledging the importance of human rights allows the school to stay open, and the institution's curriculum change reflects that:

For soldiers in the short, 4-week program, a minimum of 8 hours of human rights training is required. Those attending the program for up to 6 months receive 12 hours, while those more than 6 and up to 12 months receive 40 hours of training. These requirements exceed all required hours by the government, and are standards which no other military academy in the United States has set.

To further encourage institutional transparency, WHINSEC established a Public Relations Officer staff position to work with both individuals and opposition groups, such as SOA Watch and the Center for International Policy. Most notably, WHINSEC opened its doors to the public- a first for any military academy in the United States.